


Countdown

by AlienSoul



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Drabble, Slight angst maybe?, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-11 12:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11148849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlienSoul/pseuds/AlienSoul
Summary: One hundred and nineteen barriers, one paramount goal





	Countdown

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the following writing prompt:
> 
> "You’re the most successful exorcist in the world, getting dozens of calls everyday. Your secret? You made a deal with the demon possessing you to weed out the competition."

Crane sits in the bathtub, the water cooling around him as he picks the last of the gunk from under his fingernails. There are sixty-three left. Sixty-three out of one hundred and nineteen. It seems like such an arbitrary number to him, but those are the terms. One hundred and nineteen upstart demons that The Morningstar wants returned to the pit before Crane can collect.

While his soul certainly has _(had)_ value, his skill with demon hunting makes him more useful in the short-term. Crane supposed that making a deal with the devil was, by definition, a once-in-a-lifetime event. Making a second deal, however...

He stands and drains the tub, wincing slightly as he stretches to grab the towel hanging nearby. He's unsure what part of him is currently the sorest. His left shoulder, still tender from where the forty-third demon had wrenched his arm? His right ankle, which twisted when he slipped on the front steps of his apartment building? No, it must be the mark seared into his forearm. Ugly, red, and constantly throbbing. A persistent reminder that his soul belongs to another, and not in a good way. Not the way it belonged to Abbie.

The former Witness sighs as he dries off, anticipating a bit of dinner and a few hours of sleep before the next lead. Crane's tiny hope goes unanswered as he hears his phone ring. He's exhausted, but shuffles toward the device and answers anyway. Because after this, there will be sixty-two left. He will be one demon closer to freeing her from death. One demon closer to his own personal redemption. He may still go to hell, but she will be free to live and love again. The way it should have been.


End file.
